Synchronizing system for picture transmission



E. A. TUBBS Feb. 18, 1941.

SYNCHRONIZING SYSTEM FOR PICTURE TRANSMISSION Filed April 6, 1933 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

5 Emma A.TUBB$ wmww ATTORNEYS.

Feb. 18, 1941. 111555 2,231,911

SYNCHRONIZING SYSTEM FOR PICTURE TRANSMISSION Filed April 6, 1938 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. ERNEST A-Tusss.

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E. A. TUBBS Feb. 18, 1941.

SYNCHRONIZING SYSTEM FOR PICTURE TRANSMISSION Filed April 6, 1938 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 I: 326 moi m m INVENTOR. ERNEsT ATuBas M, a a

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Feb. 18, 1941. u s 2,231,971

SYNCHRONIZING SYSTEM FOR PICTURE TRANSMISSION Filed April s, 1958 s Sheets-Sheet e KmcqcLES. &

(PICTURE c ARR\ER sourw mm 51m. CARRIER p in. 460 7 Z TUNER DEC 8 g RF AMPUFIER AMPUFIER AND DETECTOR l 468a 75 v Fmen 1o P-F OP SELECT aELow ITAMF 4 4 N SAW-( H GEN- 7 47 TUNER Hum: To FL\P-FLOPC;1.,/J R-FAMPHFEK v qELEq ABOVE AMPIJFJER 4 AND Derevr 10,000 m SAW-10 m GEN- FILTER To 7 SELECT BETWEEN AMPLIFIER ,{JQ IODm Ann lopoom XUNER vmao MPLIFIER AND DETECTOR AMPLlFlE FLiP-FLoP 48o uov- 601v ClRCUIT AND 5AW-TOOTH GEN 13 5:552 1230 FLIP-FLOP SELECTOR uRcun' mm "ilk 4 4 INVENTOR.

ERNEST /-\.TUBB5 Patented P nis, 1941 SYNCHROhiIZlNG SYSTEM FOR PICTURE TRANSMISSION 1 v in... A. Tubbs, Long Island City, N. Y., assignor to National Television Corporation, Wilmington, Del a corporation of Delaware Application April 6, 1938, Serial No. 200,339

18 Claims.

This invention relates to picture transmission, and especially to a synchronizing system for controlling and timing the various impulses for the production of a picture both at the transmitter and at the receiver.

An object ofthe invention is to provide a synchronizing signal generator for producing the frequencies necessary for scanning control and lock ing these frequencies with respect to each other.

Another object of the invention is to provide independent phasing controls for the various impulses necessary for cathode ray scanning.

Another object of the invention is to provide a synchronizing signal generator for producing the various impulses necessary for the control of scanning in a cathode ray tube and locking such impulses with the alternating current power supp y. 2 v

Still another object of the invention is to provide a synchronizing signal generator with a rotating initiating member.

Another object of the invention is to provide a system of scanning control in which substan- 25 tially sine wave oscillations are transmitted from a synchronizing signal generator to the various pieces. of apparatus at which point the controlling impulses are created.

Another object of the invention is to provide 30 .a synchronizing system for television transmission which uses positively driven circuits to produce the necessary controlling signals and does not depend on synchronized oscillators.

Another object of the invention is to provide 35 a synchronizing system for television transmis- 40. Another object of the invention is to provide a synchronizing control for a'television receiver.

Still another object of the invention is to providea system of television transmission in which the synchronizing signal may be sent as part of the sound accompaniment. j

Another object of the. invention is to provide a television system, in which the synchronizing signals may be transmitted in the form of substantially pure sine waves.

Another objector the invention is to provide a television system whereby synchronizing may beaccomplished bymeansjof the power line.

'6 Other objects and 'objectsrelating to the var- 55 ions circuits and the "manner of interconnecting them will be apparent as the description of the invention proceeds.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. i is a circuit diagram of one form of im- 5 proved synchronizing signal generator for a television transmitter;

Fig. la is a diagram illustrating certain impulses which are produced in the circuit of Fig, 1;

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatical representation of certain impulseswhich may be produced by variations of the circuit of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a circuit diagram of a modified'form of one of the flip-flop circuits of Fig. 1; 15

Fig. 3a is an operating curve therefor;

Fig. 4 is a circuit diagram of a. modified form of the complete synchronizing signal generator of Fig. 1;

Figs. 5 and 6 are circuit diagrams of still other modified forms of the synchronizing signalgenerator of Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is a block diagram representing a tele vision transmitter;

Fig. 8 is a diagram representing the transmission of a thirty cycle sine wave for synchronizing purposes mixed with the television signal;

Fig. 9 is a block diagram of a television receiver for receiving the transmission of Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is a diagrammatical representation of a television transmission in which the synchronizing signal is mixed with the sound accompaniment for the picture; v

Fig. 11 is a block diagram of a receiver for receiving the transmission of Fig. 10; and

Fig. 12 is a block diagram of a modified form of receiver.

In all television systems some means is necessary to control the speed of the scanning apparatus at the receiver so that it is exactly the same 40 as that of the transmitter and so that a point on the picture at the receiving end will correspond to exactly the same point entire, picture at the transmitting end. Whenthe speed is the same, the two scanning devices are said to be in synchrony; when they are also maintained in the same relative position they are said tobe "in isochrony." E i H In addition to the above synchronizing require- Moment the horizontal and vertical scanning'frequencies must have a very-definite and constant relationship to each otherin order to faithfully produce the so-called finterlaced pattern. where each line of one scanning of the picture falls bescanning of the picture.

Also in television systems using a cathode ray scanning device at the transmitting end it is necessary to produce certain signals or impulses to control and properly utilize theimovement of the beam of electrons which sweeps across the light sensitive mosaic. For instance it is necessary to produce a saw-tooth wave at the picture frequency to control the vertical movement of the beam and a saw-tooth wave at the line frequency to control the horizontal movement of the beam. In addition, it is desirable to produce a blank-out impulse to remove the signal entirely when the electron beam is retracing its path after it has swept across the light sensitive mosaic and another blank-out impulse to remove the signal when the electron beam has reached the lowermost edge of the light sensitive mosaic and is caused to move to the uppermost edge again,

The former of these blank-out impulses usually occupies about one-tenth of the time required to scan once across the picture, while the latter blank-out impulse usually requires about ont-tenth of the time for the picture to be completely scanned. It is highly desirable in such a television system to control the phasing of the saw-tooth waves with respect to each other as well as the width of the blank-out impulses and their phasing with respect to each other and to the saw-tooth waves.

A feature of the present invention, therefore, is a synchronizing signal generator which will accomplish the results mentioned above in an extremely positive and easily controlled manner. The circuit isshown in Fig. l, where, in order to initiate the various signal impulses necessary, and to lock those impulses in with the sixty cycle alternating current power source, I may provide a rotary impulse generator l com- .prising a disc ll having a conductive segment l2 against which a pair or diametrically opposite brushes l3 and I may bear so that as the disc rotates in a counter-clockwise direction, as indicated by the arrow, the segment l2 passes first under the brush l3, and then after rotating 180, under the brush H. The segment I2 on the disc ii may be connected to a slip ring i5 which may be engaged by a brush it connected to ground, thus grounding the segment i2 at all times.

In order to maintain constant the speed of the rotary signal generator, I may rotate the disc II by means of a synchronous motor I! which, in the arrangement illustrated, may be an 1800 R. P. M. motor operated on the sixty cycle alternating current power line. This means that the disc II is rotating thirty times per second and that therefore the segment i2 passes each brush at 30 times-a second, and as the brushes are spaced 180 apart the segment makes contact with a brush sixty times a second.

The brush II may be connected to the grid I; of a thermionic tube I 9, while the brush l4 may be connected to the grid 20 of a thermionic tube 2|, these grids also being connected, respectively, through resistances 22 and 23 to a source of negative potential, indicated at 24.

Normally the negative potential is applied to both grids l8 and 2. through the resistances,

but when one of the brushes is in contact with separation of the brushes.

2,231,971 tween two adjacent lines of the next succeeding the time that its associated brush is in contact with the segment.

By providing a segment of a predetermined width, therefore, the period of grounding the grids may be accurately determined. In the present instance, and for the particular frequencies desired in the example described, I preferably make this segment slightly less than one-eighteenth of the circumferential line on the disc at the point of contact of the brushes. The actual size of this segment should be determlned by the angle of rotation during which the brush is in contact with the segment, and therefore, inasmuch as the brush must have some width at its contacting surface, the segment may necessarily be slightly less than the measurement given.

For reasons to be explained later, I may prefer to have. this rotary impulse generator produce very accurate impulses, and, in order to do this, I may provide adjusting means to control the position of the brushes with respect to the segment i2. Thus anadjusting screw 25 may move the brush i3 against the. tension of the spring 26 so that the contacting edge of the brush may be adjusted radially of the disc between the centerand the circumference thereof. In the same manner an adjusting screw 21 may function against the tension of the spring 28 to move the brush H in. a radial direction. An additional adjusting screw 29 may also be provided for the brush it to act longitudinally of the brush against the tension of the spring 30, so that the contacting surface of the brush I4 may be moved not only radially of the disc Ii but also through a limited distance at right angles to a radial line to adjust the angular The complete details of the adjusting mechanism have not been illustrated inasmuch as anysuitable means may be employed to accurately in the directions indicated, and such means would be well within the knowledge of one skilled in the art.

The anode 3i of the tube i9 may be connected to one side of a resonant circuit 32, comprising a coil 33 and condenser 34, and the anode 35 of the tube 2| may be connected to the opposite side of this resonant circuit. The midpoint of the coil 33 may be given a positive potential, as indicated at 36, thus providing the operating potential for resonant circuit 32 in the present instance may be tuned to a frequency of 270 cycles per second, which is a ninth harmonic of the thirty impulses produced by the disc ii.

The grid I8 is grounded at thirty times per second, as has already been mentioned, when the segment l2 passes under the brush l3. The grid 20 is grounded once between every two groundings of the grid i8, and inasmuch as the tubes are connected in'push-pull, the impulses on the two grids produce sixty impulses per second in the resonant circuit 32, alternate impulses being in the opposite direction with respect to the resonant circuit. 4

In Fig. 2 the solid lines and c represent the signals on the grids i8 and 20 of Fig. 1 as they are eifectively applied across the tuned circuit 32. The impulses a and c are applied to the tuned circuit in opposite directions, the impulses a being produced by the tube I! while the impulses c are produced by the other tube 2|. It is well understood in the art that such a wave as represented by the impulses a and 0 move these brushes the anodes of the two tubes. Thewill contain a large percentage of certain harmonics of the thirty cycle fundamental, ing the ninth, which, in the present instance, is especially desired. p

The curve e, shown in full lines, is intended to represent the sine wave of an even harmonic of the fundamental 30 cycle frequency, and from an inspection of Fig. 2 it will be seen that all of the impulses a come in the right direction to aid in the production oi this harmonic. However, the impulses c are in a direction opposed to the direction of the even harmonic oscillations corresponding in time to these impulses, and hence tend to completely counteract the even harmonics so that they are greatly decreased, if not entirely eliminated.

The resonant circuit 32, being sharply tuned to a ninth harmonic of the thirty initiating impulses, will easily select this odd harmonic and will oscillate at 270 cycles per second, which frequency will be locked to the power line frequency through the action of the synchronous motor. The oscillations of 270 cycles may then be used to initiate other impulses corresponding to the impulses produced by the wheel but at a ninth harmonic higher.

In order to select out this ninth harmonic and eliminate the other harmonics which are present, I may use some form of selective circuits, such as the chain of three tuned coupled circuits including the circuit 32, another tuned circuit 31, coupled thereto by means of the small coil 38, and a third tuned circuit 45 which may be coupled to tuned circuit 31 by means of the small coil 42 included in that circuit. Across this last tuned circuit 45 we then have substantially a sine wave of 270 cycles which may be applied to what I have termed a flip-flop circuit.

This flip-flop circuit in the arrangement above has two tubes 46 and 41. The tube 46 may have an anode 48, a cathode 49, a first control grid 50, a second control grid isolated from the other electrodes by the screen grids 52 which may be connected together, and a suppressor grid 53 which may be connected to the cathode 49. The tube 41 may have an anode 54, a cathode 55, a first control grid 56, a second control grid 51, isolated from the other electrodes by the screen grids 58 which may be connected together, and a suppressor grid 59 which may be connected to the cathode 55.

The screen grids 52 and 58 are shown connected together and provided with a positive potential, as indicated at 60. The anodes 48 and 54 may be connected through resistances 6| and 62, respectively, to a source of positive potential, indicated at 63.

The tuned circuit 45 which is tuned to a frequency of 270 cycles per second may be connected to the grids 56 and 56 of the tubes 46 and 41, while the midpoint of the circuit may be given a negative potential, as indicated at 65.

I may also connect the anode 48 through a resistance 56 to a source of negative potential, indicated at 61, and I may also connect the anode 54 through a similar resistance 68 to the same source of negative potential 61. I then connect the second control grid 5| of the tube 46 to a point 69 on the resistance 68 which may have substantially ground potential or which may be slightly negative. Similarly, I may then connect the second control grid 51 of the tube 41 to a point 16 on the resistance 66 which may have substantially ground potential or which may be 75 slightly negative.

includ- The operation of the flip-flop circuit just described has certain important eiiects with respect to the production of the signals for controlling the television apparatus which will be hereinafter described. The circuit operates on a discontinuity principle. That is, the current in the output circuit is alternately at a maximum or a minimum, under control of the voltage wave applied to grids 50 and 56, and the change from the maximum to the minimum is substantially instantaneous. Therefore, the circuit may actlike the rotary signal generator Ill to create impulses in the output circuit of the device which contain harmonics of the initiating frequency so that oscillations at a harmonic frequency may be produced. The circuit is subject to many variations, some of which will be later described, but that shown in Fig. l, as comprising tubes 45 and 41, and the immediately associated circuits, may be preferred under certain circumstances to produce the desired result.

In the operation of this flip-flop circuit let us assume that the potential of the grid 50 of the tube 46 is changed in the negative direction. This will reduce the anode-cathode current of this tube with the result that the potential of the anode is increased. Increase of the potential of the anode 48 will cause the potential of the second control grid 51 of the tube 41 to change in a positive direction as these electrodes are galvanically connected through a portion of the resistance 66.

The change toward the positive of the potential of the second control grid 51 of the tube 41 will tend to increase the anode-cathode current of this tube with the result that the potential on the anode 54 will decrease. The anode 54 is, however, galvanically connected to the second control grid 5| of the tube 46 through a portion of the resistance 68, and hence this control grid 5| will change in potential in the negative direction. This in turn tends to reduce the anode-cathode current of the tube 46 which tends to increase the anode-cathode current of tube 41, and the effect is cumulative so that instantaneously, or substantially so, the tube 46 will have a minimum of anode-cathode current and the tube 41 will have a maximum.

If, now, the control electrode 50 of the tube 46 has its potential changed in the positive direction, then the anode-cathode current of this tube will increase and the anode-cathode current of the tube 41 will decrease, the cumulative effect producing a substantially instantaneous reversal of the operation of these tubes so that the anodecathode current of tube 46 is increased to a maximum while the anode-cathode current of tube 41 is decreased to a minimum.

The above explanation could have been made with respect to grid 56 instead of grid 50, either of these grids being usable for an input signal. It should be noted, however, that with the tubes connected in push-pull, the action is symmetrical and I find this connection preferable when it is desired to substantially eliminate the even harmonics present in the output.

The change from one condition of operation to the other may be made to occur at any predetermined value of potential of the input grids 56 and 56 by suitably biasing these grids. If, for

instance, a sine wave is introduced to the grids 50 and 56 in the manner of a push-pull input circuit, wherein one grid is changing in the positive direction while the other grid is changing in the negative direction, the instantaneous change may be caused to occur at any predetermined part of the sine wave. The flip-flop circuit of tubes 48 and 41, therefore, produces a squaretopped wave similar to the rotary generator I8, but as the initiating frequency is 270 cycles per second, the square-topped wave will have that frequency.

The anode 48 of the tube 48 may be connected through a condenser 15 to the grid 18 of a tube 11, while the anode 84 of the tube 41 may be connected through a condenser 18 to the grid 18 of a tube 88, these grids being connected respectively through resistances 8| and 82 to a source of negative potential, indicated at 83. The cathodes 84 and 85, respectively, of the tubes 11 and 88 may be connected together and to ground as indicated. The anode 88 of the tube 11 may be connected to one side of a resonant circuit 81 which may comprise a coil 88 and a condenser 88, and the anode 88 of the tube 88 may be connected to the opposite side of this resonant circuit, the midpoint of the coil 88 being connected to a source of positive potential indicated at 8I. As before. the square-topped wave is composed of numerous harmonics of the fundamental, and hence I may tune the resonant circuit 81 to a frequency corresponding to one of these harmonies, and inasmuch as the circuit is connected in push-pull, the odd harmonics will predominate, as previously explained, in connection with Fig. 2. With the arrangement illustrated, I have tuned the resonant circuit 81 to 1890 cycles per second, which is a seventh harmonic of the initiating frequency of 270 cycles per second. In order to make impulses corresponding in time duration to the half cycle of the desired oscillation I may desire to produce an effect on the square-topped wave, which approaches diiferentiation.

In Fig. 1a I have indicated ,the square-topped waves 48a and 540 found in the circuits of the anodes 48 and 54 respectively. The differentiating efiect then produces the impulses indicated respectively at 18aand 18a.

In the present instance I have accomplished this purpose by properly choosing the values of the condensers 15 and 18 and resistors 8| and 82. When the capacities of these condensers have been made suitably small (i. e. large reactance) and the resistors have been given a suitable small value, I obtain the sharp impulses indicated, and I may then preferably keep the tubes biased below cut-off by means of the negative source of potential 83, so as to prevent damping of the resonant circuit 81. All of the impulses in this resonant circuit are then in the proper direction for the oscillations at 1890 cycles per second.

A second resonant circuit 82 may be coupled to the resonant circuit 81 and may comprise a coil 83 inductively coupled to the coil 88 and a condenser 84 shunted across the coil. The midpoint of the coil 83 may be connected to a source of negative potential, indicated at 85. This coil may also be tuned to 1890 cycles per second, and acts to further discriminate against undesired harmonics.

The ends of the resonant circuit 82 may be connected to the input grids of another flip-flop circuit 86, which may be similar in every respect to the flip-flop circuit comprising the tubes 48 and 41 and therefore need not be described in detail. The output of the flip-flop circuit 88 may be connected through condensers 81 and 88 to the control grids 88 and I88 of two screen grid tubes I8I and I82.

The tube I8I may have an anode I83, a cathode I84, a suppressor grid I85 connected to the cathode, and a screen grid I88 which may be given a positive potential from a source indicated at I81. Similarly, the tube I82 may have an anode I88, a cathode I88, a suppressor grid II8, which may be connected to the cathode, and a screen grid III which may be given a positive potential from a source indicated at I81. grids 88 and I88 may be connected, respectively, through resistances III and H4 to a source of negative potential indicated at H5.

The square-topped wave produced by the flipfiop circuit 88, which will be at a frequency of 1890 cycles per second, may then be diiferentiated by the condensers 91 and 88 and the resistances II3 and H4, so that impulses similar to those indicated at 16c and 18a of Fig. la will be introduced to the grids of these tubes.

The anodes I83 and I88 may be connected to opposite ends of a resonant circuit II6 which may comprise a coil II 1 and a condenser II8 shunted across it. The midpoint of the coil II1 may be given a positive potential, as indicated at II8. For the same reasons already mentioned, this resonant circuit may be tuned to an odd harmonic of the fundamental frequency of the flip-flop circuit 88, and hence, in the present instance, I have tuned this resonant circuit to 13,230 cycles per second, which is the seventh harmonic of the flip-flop circuit frequency of 1890 cycles per second.

Another resonant circuit I28 having a coil I2I and condenser I22 may be inductively coupled to the coil II1. One end of the circuit I28 may then be connected to the grid I23 of a tube I24. The cathode I25 of the tube I24 may be connected to ground through a resistance I26 which may be shunted by a condenser I21. The other end of the resonant circuit I28 may also be connected to ground. Thus the oscillations of 13,230 cycles are impressed on the grid I23. This frequency of 13,230 cycles per second is the frequency corresponding to the number of lines per second of a television picture having 441 lines of interlaced scanning at 30 complete frames per second, and hence I may desire to lead the oscillations at this frequency from the synchronizing signal generator to some remote point where the television transmitter is located, so that these oscillations may be used to create the saw-tooth waves necessary for producing the horizontal lines on the cathode ray camera tube.

In order to conveniently convey these oscillations to more remote points, the anode I28 of the tube I24 may be connected through the primary I28 of a transformer I38 to a source of positive potential indicated at I3I. The secondary I32 of this transformer may be connected to a line I33 which may lead to a point remote from that part of the signal generator already described.

At the other end the line I33 may be connected across a primary I34 of a transformer I35, the secondary I36 of which may be connected to a phasing network for adjusting the phase of the oscillations as desired. This phasing network may comprise a variable resistance I31 and a condenser I38 in series with the coil I38, the midpoint of the coil I38 being connected to a source of negative potential, indicated at I38, and to the juncture of the condenser I38 and resistance I31 through another resistance I48. When the values of the resistance I31 and condenser I88 are properly chosen, adjustment of the value of the resistance will cause a shift in the phase The control of the voltage wave developed across the resistance I40.

In order to make a saw-tooth wave at a frequency of 13,230 cycles I may use these oscillations to initiate the operation of a flip-flop circuit, similar to one of the flip-flop circuits already described. However, this fiip-flop circuit may operate under certain conditions with a single tube instead of the two tubes as shown in the previous circuits, and in the present instance I have shown a single multi-grid tube I4I connected in such a manner as to produce the discontinuity action already described in connection with the previous flip-flop circuits. This tube may have a control grid I42 which may be connected to a point I43 on the resistance I40 so that a predetermined amplitude of the voltage oscillations across this resistance may be applied to the grid.

The tube I4I, in addition, may have an anode I44, a cathode I45, a suppressor grid I46, which may be connected to the cathode, a flip-flop output grid I41, a flip-flop input grid I48, and a screen grid I49. The anode I44 may be given a positive potential from a source indicated at I50 through a resistance I5I. The screen grid I49 may be given a positive potential from a source indicated at I52. The flip-flop output grid I41 may also be given a positive potential from a source indicated at I53 through a resistance I54. This grid may also be connected through a large resistance I55 to a source of negative potential indicated at I56. The input flip-flop grid I48 may be directly connected to a point I51 on the resistance I55 which has a substantially ground potential or which may be slightly more negative than ground. This provides a galvanic connection between the flipflop output grid I41. The cathode I45 may be connected to ground.

In the operation of this flip-flop circuit, the values of the various components of the circuit may be adjusted so that when the potential of the control grid I42 reaches a predetermined value, in the course of tion, the anode-cathode current of the tube will instantaneously change to a predetermined value. The action of this flip-flop circuit, as will be seen, is similar to that already described in connection with the others, except that a single tube is used.

The oscillations applied to the input grid I42 are therefore caused to create a square-topped wave in the anode circuit of the tube. This wave may then be difierentiated in a manner already described, by connecting the anode I44 through a condenser I58 to the grid I59 of a tube I60, the grid also being connected through a high resistance IBI to a source of negative potential, indicated at I62. The values of the condenser I58 and resistance I6I may be such as to cause the differentiation action as already described to produce a sharp impulse on the grid I59 at each break of the square-topped wave. The negative potential on the grid I59 may be such that the grid is biased to cut-off, or in other words to such an extent that the tube will respond only to positive impulse, so that the negative impulses produced on the grid by the differentiation action are eliminated.

The tube may have an anode I63, a cathode I64, which may be connected to ground, and a screen grid I65, which may be given a positive potential from a source indicated at I66. The anode I63 may be given a positive potential change in a given directhrough a resistance I61, and this potential may be made variable by connecting the end of the resistance I61 to a movable contact I68 operating on a resistance I69, one end of which is connected to the source of positive potential, indicated at I10, the other end I1I being grounded. Movement of the contact arm I68 will change the potential on the anode I63.

A condenser I12 may have one end connected to the anode I63 and the other end connected through a resistance I13 to ground, and the arrangement of this tube with the condenser I12 is such as to create a saw-tooth wave from the impulses introduced to the grid of the tube. The saw-tooth is made in the following manner: As the grid I59 of the tube is maintained normally at cut-off there will be substantially no anodecathode current in the tube and hence the condenser I12 will be gradually charged through the resistance I61 and a part of the resistance I69 by the source of potential I10. The rate of charge of this condenser will follow approximately a straight line and the condenser will continue to charge until one of the positive impulses is applied to the grid I59. When a positive impulse is applied to the grid I59 the tube becomes conductive and the condenser I12 will discharge through the anode-cathode circuit of the tube, whereupon the impulse is removed from the grid, the grid swings to cut-off again, and the condenser I12 starts to charge again.

This intermittent gradual charging and sudden discharging of the condenser produces the sawtooth wave which may then be applied through a condenser I14, connected to the anode I53 of the tube, to the grid I15 of another tube I16, the grid I15 also being connected to a source of negative potential, indicated at. I11, through a resistor I18. The resistance I13, as is well known, is used to help shape the saw-tooth wave. The tube I16 may have a cathode I19 which may be connected to ground. a screen grid I15a with a source of positive potential, indicated at UM an anode I80 which may be connected to a source of positive potential, indicated at I8l, through the primary I82 of a transformer I83. A secondary I84 of the transformer may be directly connected across the horizontal deflecting coil I85 which is to be applied to the cathode ray tube for guiding the electron beam.

Care should be taken in the design of the transformer I83 in order to pass the saw-tooth wave through it without distortion. Some distortion may however be produced. Such distortion may be greatly reduced or eliminated by the use of a wave shaping network which may comprise the resistance I86 and the condenser I81 connected in series witheach other and across the primary I82 of the transformer.

It is desirable in producing a cathode ray tele,- vision picture to provide certain signal correcting waves, such as blanking-out impulses, which remove the signal during the period that the cathode ray beam is retracing its movement across the picture field.

In order to obtain the oscillations for controlling or creating the blanking-out impulse I may connect another tube I88 with its input circuit in parallel with the input circuit of the tube I24. The control grid I89 of this tube may therefore be connected directly to the control grid I23 of the tube I24. The oscillations at a frequency of 13,230 cycles will then be impressed upon the grid I89. The tube I88 may have an anode I90 and a cathode I9I, the latter being connected to .the variable resistance 200 and the condenser 20I connected in series with each other and across the secondary I99. The midpoint of the secondary I99 may be given a negative potential as indicated at 202, while the juncture of the condenser 20I and resistance 200 may be connected to the same source of negative potential through a resistance 203. The voltage variations at 13,230 cycles across the resistance 203 may then be shifted in phase through a rather large angle by adjustment of the resistance 200.

The oscillations produced across the resistance 203 may be transferred to'a flip-flop circuit 204, which has not been shown in detail because it may be identical to the flip-flop circuit of the tube HI, and the amplitude of the oscillations taken from the resistor 203 may be adjusted by means of a movable contact 205 engaging that resistance. The flip-flop circuit 204 acts to make a squaretopped wave out of the oscillations applied to it, and this square-topped wave may then be applied to the blanking-out amplifier 206, which may be arranged in a known manner to reshape the square-topped waves in such a manner as to provide the necessary width of blanking-out impulse to eliminate from the signal the return trace of the cathode ray beam at the end of each line, and also to eliminate undesirable transients which may be developed because of the rapid changes of the horizontal deflection saw-tooth wave. These blanking-out impulses may be applied to the signal at any desirable point between the camera tube itself and the transmitter. Other signal correcting waves may be similarly made and properly controlled as to time by connection of suitable circuits using tubeswith inputs connected in parallel with the tubes I24 and I30. Certain of these circuits will be subsequently explained.

The synchronizing signal generator may also be used to control the vertical deflection of the cathode ray beam, and for this purpose a sawtooth wave at 60 cycles per second is desired. This may be formed in the following manner: The brushes I3 and I4 on the rotary impulse generator I0 may be connected respectively to the grids 201 and 209 of two tubes 209 and 2I0 which may have their cathodes 2H and 2I2 connected together and to ground.- The anodes 2I3 and 2 of these tubes may also be connected together and to one end of the primary 2I5 of transformer 2I9,. the other end of the primary being connected to a source of positive potential,

indicated at 2".

The transformer 2I6 may be specially designed to pass a wide enough band of frequencies for a sixty cycle square-topped wave. The secondary 2" of this transformer may then be connected across a line 2I9 which may lead to some point remote from the synchronizing signal generator where the camera tube is set up.

The end of the line 2I9 may be terminated by a resistance 220 connected across the line and a variable resistance 22I in series with the output coil 222 which may be used to inductively transfer variations in thecoil to a second coil 223. This coil may have one end connected to a source oi negative potential, indicated at 224, and the other end connected to the grid 225 of an amplitying tube 225.

The resistance 22 I at the end of .the line is made very large with respect to the impedance of the coil 222 so that difierentiation takes place, with the result that sharp impulses are deliveredto the grid 225. The cathode 22'! of this tube may be grounded and the anode 229 may be connected to a source of positive potential, indicated at 229, through a resistance 230. For making the saw-tooth wave, a condenser 23I may have one end connected to the anode 229 and the other end connected to ground through a resistance 232.

The negative potential 224 on the grid 225 of the tube may be such that the tube is operating at cut-off and therefore only the positive impulses applied to the grid will operate the tube. The saw-tooth wave is then made in exactly the same manner as has already been described in connection with the 13,230 cycle saw-tooth.

The saw-tooth wave thus produced may then be transferred by means of the condenser 233 to the grid 234 of another tube 235. In order to be able to adjust the amplitude of the signal applied to the grid 234 I may connect a resistor 236 between the condenser 233 and a source of negative potential, indicated at 231. A movable contact arm 233 may then be connected between the grid 234 and the resistance 236. The tube 235 may have a cathode 239, which may be connected to ground, and an anode 240 which may be connected through a choke 2 to a source of positive potential, indicated at 242. The saw-tooth wave may then be applied to the vertical deflecting coil 243 by means of a condenser 244, the other end of the coil 243 being connected to ground.

The line H 9 which leads the sixty cycle squaretopped wave from the synchronizing signal generator to the point where it is used may have other branches leading from it, as indicated at 245, so that wherever a sixty cycle wave is necessary in the system it may be obtained at this point.

I have shown in Fig. l a rotary signal generator for producing a square-topped wave which is used with my system of synchronizing signal generation. I have also shown flip-flop circuits used in various stages of the synchronizing signal generator of Fig. 1 which also produce square-topped waves by the electronic discontinuity action. It will be understood that a flip-flop circuit may also be used to produce the square-topped wave which the rotary apparatus produces in Fig. 1.

Any other method of producing a discontinuity action may be used with the invention. Such a method, which may produce a wave closely approaching a square-topped wave may be accomplished by means of a tube which is greatly overloaded by the input signal. A circuit for using a tube in this manner is illustrated in Fig. 3 where the tube 250 may have an anode 25I, a control grid 252, and a cathode 253. The control grid 252 may be connected through a resistance 254 to one end of the secondary 255 of a transformer 253, the other end'of the secondary being connected through a suitable biasing battery 251 to the cathode 253 and to ground. The primary 2" of the transformer 259 may be connected to some suitable source of oscillations at the predetermined desired frequency. The resistance 254 is provided to give poor regulation to the input circuit, if the transformer secondary is not suillcient for that purpose, so that the potential of the grid will change whenever there is grid current, owing to the drop through the resistance.

The curve 259, representing the grid-potentials plotted against plate-current values is also shown immediately below the tube in Fig. 3a, and the battery 251 or other source of negative potential is such that the tube is biased at a point 260 on the curve. The signal on the grid of the tube may then be made greatly in excess of the normal signal for the tube. Such a signal is illustrated by the sine wave 261 which is laid out about a vertical line including the bias point 269 on the curve. When the grid swings negative the plate current will reach a minimum when the voltage on the grid has reached a point 262 corresponding to the point 263 where the curve intersects the base line. When the grid is changed in the positive direction to such a point 264 on the curve where it will begin to draw grid current, the effective grid-voltage, plate-current curve flattens out horizontally as indicated by the dotted line 265. Therefore, when the grid potential sine wave 261 has reached a point 266 on the sine wave which corresponds with the point 264 on the curve, the plate current of the tube will not further increase. If the plate current curve is then laid out on the horizontal line intersecting the bias point 269 on the curve 259, the plate current will rise in a sine wave indicated at 261 until the voltage on the grid sine wave reaches a point 266, at which time the plate current will remain constant until the grid sine wave has reached a point 268, on its return in the negative direction, thus forming a substantially flat top 269.

At this point, however, the plate current wave will move down, following a sine wave to form the portion 210, and will continue to move down until the point 262 corresponding to cut-off is reached on the grid voltage wave, at which point the plate current has reached a minimum and the flat portion 211 i formed. When the grid voltage wave has reached a corresponding point 212 going in the positive direction, the plate current wave will rise again in a sine wave, forming the portion 213.

It will be seen that the anode current of the tube 250 will then produce a sine wave with the peaks of the wave cut off in substantially fiat lines. This wave may then be passed through a transformer 214 having a primary 215 which may have one end connected to the anode 251' and the o her end connected to a source of positive potential, indicated at 216. The transformer 214 may have a secondary 211 which may be connected to a second tube 218, the input circuit for that tube being exactly the same as the input circuit for the tube 259.

The tube 250 not only cuts oil" thepeaks of the wave but amplifies the signal, and hence the voltage impressed on the grid 219 of the tube 218 may be greatly in excess of the normal voltage swing for that tube. Hence the tube 218 does exactly the same thing that the tube 250 does and cuts off the peaks of the amplified wave. This increases the slope of the wave and the process may be repeated in several stages if desired, until the slope of the wave closely approximates a vertical line. The substantially square-wave thus formed may then be differentiated by the l circuit 289, which may be the same as the differentiating circuits already described, and the pulses produced may be used in the same manner as has already been described.

In Figi 4, another arrangement of my improved synchronizing signal generator is shown in which a synchronous motor 285, adapted in this present instance to run at a predetermined synchronous speed on the sixty cycles alternating current, is directly connected to a generator 286 which is designed to produce oscillations at thirty cycles when driven by the synchronous motor 285. The oscillations of thirty cycles may then be applied to a flip-flop circuit 281 which may be similar to the push-pull flip-flop circuits already described, and the square-topped waves produced by this flip-flop circuit may be applied through condensers 289 and 289 respectively, to the grids 290 and 291 of tubes 292 and 293. Resistors 294 and 295 may be connected respectively between grids 291) and 291 and a source of negative potential, indicated at 296.

The values of the condensers and resistors just mentioned may be such as to differentiate the waves to form the sharp impulses, the negative cycles of which may be eliminated by an adjustment of the source of potential 296 to bias the tube at cut-off. The tubes 292 and 293 may then be used to drive a tuning fork 291 which is tuned to an odd harmonic of the thirty cycle generator, as, for instance, the twenty-first harmonic, or 630 cycles. The tuning fork may be driven in any desirable way, as, for instance, by means of the two coils 298 and 299, positioned at the outside of the tines of the fork, and connected in series with each other between the anode 300 of the tube 292 and a source of positive potential, indicated at 301. A coil 382 may be provided between the tines of the fork, which may be connected between the anode 393 of the 293, and the source of positive potential Whenever current flows in the anode circuit of the tube 292 the tines of the fork are pulled outwardly, while current inthe anode circuit of the tube 293 tends to pull the tines of the fork together. A pair of pick-up coils 364 and 385, positioned at the ends of the tines, may be connected in series, between the grids 39B and 301 of a flip-flop circuit 399. The juncture of these coils may be connected to a source of negative potential, indicated at 394a, and a resistor 306a may be connected between the grids with its mid-point grounded. The flip-flop circuit, by its discontinuity action, as already described, may change the sine wave produced by the coils 304 and 385 when the tuning fork vibrates, to a square-topped wave which will have a frequency of 630 cycles per second, the same frequency as the fork. The squaretopped wave produced by the push-pull flip-flop circuit may then be applied through coupling condensers 309 and 310 to the grids 311 and 312, of two tubes 313 and 314 respectively.

Resistances 315 and 316 may be connected between the grids 311 and 312 and a source of negative potential, indicated at 311. The values of the condensers and grids just mentioned may be chosen so as to differentiate the square-topped waves creating impulses as indicated, which will be applied to the grids of the tubes, and the negative potential 311, may be chosen so as to bias these tubes to cut-off and thus eliminate the negative impulses. The tubes 313 and 314 may preferably be screen grid tubes provided, re-

spectively, with screens 3l3 and 3l3, which may be connected to a source of positive potential, indicated at 323. The cathodes 32! and 322 of the tubes 3l3 and 3, respectively, may be connected together and to ground.

The impulses above produced in the anode circuits oi the tubes M3 and 3 may then be used to drive a mazneto-striction device 323. This device may comprise a bar 324 of magnetic material, such as invar, rigidly mounted at its center in a shielding plate 325, the bar extending out equally on each side of the plate. A coil 325 of wire may be positioned around one end of the bar at a point about one-quarter of the distance from the plate to the end of the bar, and one end of this coil may be connected to the anode 321 of the tube 3I3, while the other end may be connected to the anode 323 of the tube 3! 4. A center tap on the coil 325 may be connected to a source of positive potential, indicated at 323. The sharp impulses produced by the tubes 3l3 and 3 and flowing through the coil 325 will cause the bar 324 to vibrate at its period of vibration, which may, in the present instance, be fixed at 13,230 cycles. Whereupon a driven coil 333, spaced around the opposite end of the bar at about one-quarter of the distance from the plate 325 to the end bar, will have the 13,230 cycles induced in it and the ends of this coil may then be connected to a saw-tooth-making circuit, as described in connection with Fig. 1.

The diflerentiated output of the flip-flop circuit 231 at thirty cycles per second may also be used to produce the sixty cycle saw-tooth wave for the vertical deflection of the cathode ray tube, and to this end tubes 33! and 332 may have their input circuits connectedin parallel with the tubes 232 and 233. Thus the grid 333 of the tube 33! may be connected directly to the grid 233 of the tube 232, and the grid 334. of the tube 332 may be connected directly to the grid 23! of the tube 233, and the same impulses as applied to the grids of the tubes 232 and 233 will therefore be appliedto the grids of the tubes 33! and 332.

The anodes 335 and 335 of the tubes 33! and 332 may then be connected together and to a source of positive potential, indicated at 331, through a resistance 333. The parallel connection of theanodes 335 and 335 will cause all the impulses produced by these tubes to be in the same direction (negative) as indicated by the diagram adjacent these parallel anode circuits, and these impulses may be transferred through a condenser 333 to the grid 343 of a tube 34!, a

resistance 342 being also connected between the grid 343 and a source of negative potential 343, which may be suflicient to maintain the tube 34! at c'ut-oif. The values of the condenser 333 and resistance 342 may then be chosen so as to difierentiate the impulses produced by the tubes 33! and 332, and as the tube 34! is maintained at cut-oil, the negative impulses will be eliminated.

The cathode 344 of the tube 34! may be connected to ground, while the anode 345 may be given a positive potential through a resistance 345. The other end of the resistance 345 may be connected to a movable arm 341 on a resistance 343, one end of which may be connected to the positive source potential, indicated at 343, and the other end 353 may be grounded,

grid of the tube 34!, which, when applied to the saw-tooth maker, creates the sixty cycle sawtooth wave for the vertical deflection circuits.

In Fig. I have shown another modified form of the synchronizing signal generator. In this modification the synchronous motor 355, adapted to operate, for the example illustrated, on sixty cycle alternating current, is arranged to drive a generator 355 which is designed to produce oscillations at a frequency of 630 cycles per second when driven at the predetermined speed of the motor 355. These oscillations at 630 cycles may be introduced in push-pull by means of the transformer 3550. to the flip-flop circuit 351 which may be similar to the push-pull flip-flop circuits described in connection with the other figures, and the square-topped wave output of this flip-flop circuit may be applied to the grids 358 and 353 of the tubes 353 and 35! through condensers 352 and 353. Resistances 354 and 355 may be connected respectively, between the grids 353 and 353 and a source of negative po-- 351 and 353 which may be connected together and to a suitable source of positive potential indicated at 353. The cathodes 353a and 35! of the tubes may be connected together and to ground as indicated. The anodes 313 and 31! of the tubes 353 and 35! may be connected to opposite endsoi. a resonant circuit 312 which may comprise a coil 313 and a condenser 314, shunted across it, and the midpoint of the coil may be connected to a source of positive potential indicated at 315.

The resonant circuit 312 may be tuned to an odd harmonic of the 630 cycle fundamental as, for instance, 13,230 cycles, which will then be produced in the circuit 312 by the impulses com- Another reso-' cycle alternating current from the line 354 and use it to produce the saw-tooth wave for the sixty cycle vertical deflection. To this end I may leadthe alternating current to the primary 313 of a transformer 333, the secondary 33! of which may form part of a phase-adjusting network comprising the variable resistance 382 and the condenser 333, both in series with the coil 33!. The midpoint of the coil may be connected to ground and the juncture of the resistance and condenser may then be connected to a single tube flip-flop circuit 334, the output anode 335 of which, carrying the sixty cycle square-topped wave may be applied to a suitable saw-tooth generator (not shown) for producing the sixty cycle vertical deflection sawtooth wave.

The blanking-out impulses which may be applied to the signal between the successive scannings of the picture fleld,,may also be produced from the sixty cycle alternating current. To this end I may connect the primary 380 of a transformer 381 to the alternating current power lines 354, the secondary 300 of the transformer being included in a phasing circuit 309 similar to the circuit 302 described above. The output of this phasing circuit may be connected to a single tube flip-flop circuit 390 which may translate the sine wave of the sixty cycle to the squaretoppedwave. This single tube flip-flop may then be connected to a suitable blanking impulse amplifier (not shown).

It may be desirable also, in the production of a television picture, to provide an oscillation at the frequency of the second harmonic of the picture line frequency, in order to produce certain shading effects on the picture, which will be understood by one skilled in the art. Accordingly, I may use the 630 impulses per second which are applied to the grids of the tubes 360 and 36l in another circuit including the tubes 3! and 392. Thus the control grid 393 of the tube 39I may be directly connected to the grid 358 of the tube 360 and the control grid 394 of the tube 392 may be directly connected to the 'grid 359 of the tube 36L The cathodes 395 and 396 of the tube may be connected together and to ground, as indicated. Also screen grids 391 and 398 of the tubes 39! and 392, respectively, may be connected together and to a source of positive potential, indicated at 399. The anodes 400 and 40! of the tubes 39l and 392 may be con nected together and to a source of positive potential indicated at 402 through a suitable frequency selecting circuit 403 which may be arranged to select the frequency of 26,460 cycles, which is the second harmonic of the picture line frequency of 13.230 cycles per second.

It will be seen that inasmuch as the anodes of the tubes 39l and 392 are connected in parallel, the impulses produced in the anode circuit will all be in the same direction as explained in connection with the sixty cycle saw-tooth circuit of Fig. 4, so that the even harmonics will be amplified or increased and the odd harmonics will be suppressed. The final frequency obtained by the selecting circuit 403 will therefore bean even harmonic of the 630 cycle wave produced by the g nerator 356, or in the case under consideration. the forty-second harmonic.

Still another modified form of my improved signal generator is illustrated in Fig. 6 in which ,the sixty cycle alternating current is used alone applied to a second flip-flop circuit 401 which will produce a square-topped wave at 1260 cycles. This wave may in turn be differentiated and applied to a suitable selecting circuit 408 which may be tuned to select a twenty-first harmonic of the 1260 cycles, or 26,460 cycles.

The output of this selecting circuit may be respond to the second harmonic of. the picture line frequency. This frequency of 26,460 cycles may also be applied to a frequency-dividing circuit 4", which may be any of the well known circuits for that purpose, such as a multi-vibrator, so as to produce the 13,230 cycles necessary for the picture line frequency. These oscillations may then be delivered to a selecting circuit 4 for selecting a substantially pure sine wave which may be fed to a saw-tooth generator (not shown) for producing the horizontal saw-tooth deflection wave..

The synchronizing signal generator described in connection with Figs. 1 to 6 inclusive may be used for any television system where oscillations at several different frequencies are necessary to control the apparatus, and especially where such oscillations are necessarily locked together in time relation. One such television system has been diagrammaticallyillustrated in Fig. '7 where a cathode ray camera tube 420 is shown with its output connected to a preamplifier 42! which feeds the video amplifier 422. The output of the video amplifier is shown connected to a video transmitter 423 which is provided with an antenna 424.

The synchronizing signal generator 425 may be similar to any one of the various generators already described, and may be arranged to provide oscillations at 60 cycles, cycles, 13,230 cycles, 26,460 cycles and a suitable oscillation for transmitting a synchronizing signal. These oscillations may emerge in sine wave form from 3 the signal generator on leads 426, 421, 428, 429 and 430 in the order named, and the oscillations may be led to any desired point at the transmitting station from the signal generator in ordinary wires, without particular pains being taken to eliminate distortion, as would be the case if sharp impulses or saw-tooth waves were transmitted from the synchronizing signal generator to the point of use. The synchronizing signal generator may thus be positioned at some point in the transmitting station where the space it occupies does not interfere with the operation and maintenance of the other apparatus.

The camera tube 420 may have horizontal magnetic deflection coils 43| and vertical magnetic deflection coils 432, which, it will be understood, are used to control the movement of the beam of electrons. A saw-tooth-making circuit 433, including a flip-flop circuit, as, for instance, described in connection with the tube Hi and the circuits immediately following that tube in Fig. 1, may be energized by the 13,230 cycle oscillation from the lead 420 and may be connected to the coil 43! so that the coil is supplied with a sawtooth wave at a frequency of 13,230 cycles. The unit 433 may also include a phasing adjustment, as already described in connection with some of the other circuits.

In the same manner the vertical coil 432 may be energized by means of asaw-tooth-making circuit 434 which may be connected to the sixty cycle oscillationfrom the lead 426, and may in clude a flip-flop circuit and a saw-tooth-making circuit as well as the phasing adjustment referred to in connection with the other. This will supply a sixty cycle saw-tooth wave to the vertical coil 432.

It may be desirable to supply the grid 435 of the camera tube with a blanking-out impulse to increase the bias on the grid when the cathode duce the necessary blanking-out impulses which may be, for example, about one-tenth of the time required for the cathode ray beam to scan across the picture, as far as the horizontal blanking-out impulse is concerned, and one-tenth of the time to make a complete scanning for the vertical impulse. Phasing controls may also be included in the blanking-out impulse generator.

Another blanking-out impulse may be delivered to the video amplifier 422 by means of a blanking-out impulse generator 431 which may be supplied from the 60 cycle and 13,230 cycle mains 425 and 428, so that'the signal from the camera tube may be blanked out during the retrace periods to eliminate any undesired transients which may be produced in the circuit at this time. Phasing adjustments for both frequencies may be included in this blanking-out generator.

Also, I may provide a shading amplifier 435, which I may connect to the video amplifier 422. This shading amplifier may be arranged to produce a plurality of sine waves as, for instance, 60 cycles, 120 cycles, 13,230 cycles, and 26,460 cycles, and also certain other variations, such as sawtooth waves at 60 cycles and 13,230 cycles. These various waves may preferably be arranged for phasing through 360 degrees and controlled in amplitude so that they may be introduced into the amplifier to offset certain effects which may be produced in the signal by the action of the camera tube, or for other reasons. In order to supply the shading amplifier with suitable oscillations for energizing it I may connect it as indicated to the lines 426, 421, 428 and 429.

I may apply the synchronizing signal to the transmitter by means of a synchronizing signal circuit 439 which may be supplied by the synchronizing'f signal line 430. This synchronizing signal circuit has not been shown in detail, but may be arranged to provide synchronizing impulses at both the line frequency of 13,230 cycles and the picture frequency of 60 cycles which may be set up on the blanking-out impulses in a well known manner, or, it may be arranged to introduce a sine wave into the signal for synchronizing purposes, following one system which may be found desirable and which is diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 8. Any of these synchronizing signals may be phased as already explained.

The monitor apparatus which would be used 'at the transmitting station has not been shown in Fig. 7 but might receive its proper'controlling oscillations from the synchronizing signal generator in the same manner as the transmitting apparatus.

In Fig. 9 I have shown a receiver arranged to utilize'the thirty cycle sine wave synchronizing signal illustrated in Fig. 8. In the receiver of Fig. 9 the entire signal is received by means of an antenna 440 and applied to a receiving circuit 44! which may include a tuner, a radio frequency amplifier and a detector stage. The amplified signal may then pass through a thirty cycle eliminator circuit 442, the function of which is to remove the thirty cycle wave from the signal in any desirable manner, whereupon the signal is delivered to the video amplifier 443 and thence directly to the grid 444 of the cathode ray tube 445.

ray beam is making its retrace, after each line The unit I may also deliver the entire signal to a thirty cycle selecting circuit 446, the function of which is to remove all but the thirty cycle oscillation from the slgnaland thence deliver this oscillation to a signal generator 441 which may correspond to the signal generator shown in Fig. 4, the thirty cycle oscillation being used to initiate the first fiip-fiop circuit 281 of Fig. 4. This signal generator will then produce a sixty cycle oscillation and a 13,230 cycle Oscillation. These oscillations may then be delivered, respectively, to two phasing adjusters 448 and-449, and then to the saw-tooth makers 450 and 451. The sawtooth waves produced by these s'aw-tooth-making circuits may then be delivered to the horizontal and vertical coils 452 and 453 for controlling the cathode ray beam in the tube 445.

- I have discovered that the controls for phasing the saw-tooth waves serve as an excellent means for centering or framing the picture on the cathode ray tube, as the complete picture may be moved up and down or from side to side within certain limits depending on the width of theblank-out impulse. In order to accomplish this result without interfering with the quality of the picture the blanking-out impulse should be longer in time duration than the retrace time of the saw-tooth wave.

A separate tuner unit 454, which may also include a radio frequency amplifier and a detector circuit, may be used to select a sound accompaniment for the television picture which may be transmitted on another adjacent carrier. The

unit 454 may be connected to an amplifier 455 which in turn may be connected to a loud speaker 455 to reproduce the sound accompaniment.

In Fig. 10 another system of transmitting the synchronizing impulses is illustrated diagrammatically. The picture signal itself may be sent on a carrier frequency 451 which will then contain the picture alone without any synchronizing impulses. Adjacent to the carrier 451 may be another carrier 458 which may be modulated with the sound accompaniment for the picture, this accompaniment having a Hunted band of frequencies as, for instance, between the limits of cycles and 10,000 cycles per second. The synchronizing impulses are then mixed with the sound in sine wave form and may be any frequencies outside of the range reserved for the sound. Thus, a sixty cycle sine wave may be used for the frame frequency, and a 13,230 cycle sine wave may be used for the line frequency.

In Fig. 11 a television receiver for utilizing the system illustrated in Fig. 10 is shown. With this system the complete signal is received on an antenna 459 and delivered to a selecting circuit 450 which may also include an amplifier and detector for the picture carrier. The detected signal is then applied to a video amplifier I and thence to the grid 462 of the cathode ray tube 483. Inasmuch as there is nothing but the picture signal on the picture carrier, nothing but detectionand amplification is necessary to deliver the signal to the grid of the tube.

Another signal selecting circuit 454 may also be connected to the antenna 459 and may include an amplifier and detector for the sound and synchronizing signal. A filter 465 may be connected to the selecting circuit 454 which is designed to select audio frequencies between 100 and 10,000 cycles, and these frequencies are then delivered to an amplifier 455 and thence to a loud speaker 461 where they are translated into sound.

Also, a filter unit 468, arranged to select out The -110 volt, sixty cycle alternating current audio frequencies below .100' cycles may be connected to the selecting circuit 464. and such selected" oscillations may be applied to a. fiip-flop circuit 469 which may include an amplifier and saw-tooth generator, the. SflWrtOOtlIWGVBS produced being led to the vertical deflecting coils 416 of the tube 463.

liver such frequencies to a flip-flop circuit 412.

which may include'an amplifier and a saw-tooth generator, so that the saw-toothwave produced thereby may be applied to the horizontal deflecting coils 413 of the tube 463.

With the arrangement just described the selecting circuit 460 may be tuned to the picture carrier and the picture signal will then be applied to the grid of the cathode ray tube. The selecting circuit 464 may then be tuned to the sound car rier and the sound reproduced in the speaker 461. At the same time, whatever frequency is used above 10,000 cycles for the linefrequency, and below cycles for the picture frequency will be selected by means of the filter circuits 468 and 4H and translated into saw-tooth waves to be applied to the deflecting coils. Thus with this system it will be possible for the receiver to autocircuit, inwhich case the unit 468 would be eliminated and sixty cycle alternating current from the power line be introduced directly to the circuit 469 where it would operate the flip-flop circuit and saw-tooth maker included in that circuit. The successful operation of such an arrangement is made possible by the accurate locking of the synchronizing signals to the sixty cycle power lines at the transmitter.

Where it is desired to obtain the vertical deflecting frequency from the power linesit is obviously unnecessary to transmit this frequency either on the picture channel'or on the sound 1 channel, and the preferred system of transmission might then be to transmit a 13,230 cycle sine wave on the sound channelfor the horizontal deflection, this being the only synchronizing signal transmitted. A receiver for use with such a system is'illustrated in Fig. 12in which the signal receiver on the antenna 415 may be selected and detected by unit 416, and the video signal amplified by the amplifier 411 and then delivered to the grid 418 of the cathode ray'tube 419. At the same time a second selecting and detector circuit 480 may be tuned to the sound carrier andthe sound'signal delivered to an amplifier 46! and thence to a speaker 482. A selector circuit 483, which may comprise a coil and condenser combination tuned to 13,230 cycles, mayselect that frequency out of the sound and deliver it to a flip flop circuit and saw-tooth generator 464, from which it may be applied to the horizontal deflecting coil 466' for the cathode ray tube,

fromthe' power supply mains may be applied to the primary of a transformer 46.6, thesecondary of which may be connected to a fiip-fiopcircuit and saw-tooth generator 461, and the output of this circuit may be connected to the vertical defleeting coils 466. l i

In theoperation of this receiver the picture signal is received and amplified and applied to the grid of the cathode ray tubeas before. The sound signal containing the 13,230 cycle sine wave may be detected, amplified and applied to. the loud speaker. exactly as it is; because the 13,230 cycle note is high enoughso that it may not be objectionable, although it may be eliminated from the audible system by. any suitable means, if desired. It is then a' simple matter toselect,'by means of a tuned coil from this signal, the 13,230 cycle oscillation which then operates the flip-flop circuit for the horizontal deflection current. This receiver is therefore extremely simple inasmuch as the only selection necessary, except between the picture carrier; and the sound carrier, is the 13,230 cycle oscillation. I 1

Under certain conditions it might be desirable to synchronize solely from thepower lines whereupon no l3,230 cycle oscillation would be transmitted with the picture or sound, but a-signal generator, as, for instance, that shown in Fig. 6 may be used to produce the 13,230 cycle oscillation from the alternating current power circuit. In the receivers as shown in Figs. 9, l1. and 12, I have shown separate selecting circuits for the sound and picture signals, but it may be desirable to accomplish the selection in the intermediate frequency where a superheterodyne is used. Any suitable arrangement for receiving and selecting the particular signal frequency is intended to be included in, the invention.

From the above description it will be seen that I have provided a television synchronizing system which has certain advantages over the prior art. In the first place, the synchronizing signal generator may be locked with the frequency of the sixty cycle alternating current power mains by means of the synchronous motors shown in Figs. 1, 4 and 5, or the arrangement of Fig. 6, where the initiating energy is taken directly from the power mains. This permits a much more accurate control of the frequencies necessary at the transmittenand reduces to a large extent certain problems connected with. hum in .the television picture. It also permits the receiver to synchronize on the power line frequency, wherever the receiver is used with the'same alternating current power supply system asv the transmitter or one which is synchronized withit, as isbecoming common practice today.

The system also permits greater flexibility of the spacing of thefapparatus' in a transmitting station as the various signals may be carried from point to point in the form of sine wave oscillations. The latter condition makes it possibleto phase all of the signals very accurately with respect to eachother and with respect to the funda- 65 mental, and greatly addsto "the control facilities of the system. The synchronizing signal generator itself may be used with any system of television or wherever oscillations of different frequencies are required with ,accuratetiming relation between them.

The accurate spacing of the various oscilla-.

tions produced, especially the sixty cycle for the vertical movement of the,bearn with respect to the 13,230 cycle horizontal line frequency, insures accurate interlacingof alternate pictures, and this accurate interlacing is always completely under control. For instance, with the arrangement shown in Fig. 1 it has been stated that the brushes l3 and I4 on the motor generator unit l0 should be accurately positioned 180 degrees apart in order to produce the proper timing for the sixty cycle saw-tooth. I have found that one of the best ways to check this spacing of the brushes is to watch a television picture and move one of the brushes circumferentially with respect to the other. When the brushes are positioned at exactly 180 degrees the interlacing will be periect. An adjustment of one of the brushes, however; in either direction will cause one series of pictures to move vertically with respect to the other series, so that the interlaced lines are not evenly spaced but may even pair with each other.

The flip-flop circuits described form an extremely accurate method of producing higher frequencies and of locking such frequencies to the fundamental. It is inherently a non-oscillating circuit and therefore has no tendency to cause a jump from one harmonic to another, as is the case with controlled oscillators, such as multivibrators. As far as its frequency response is concerned the flip-flop circuit acts very similarly to a resistance-coupled amplifier and the same considerations should be given in designing a flipfiop circuit for high frequency response as would be given an amplifier.

In all of the various circuits shown and described I- have simplified the drawings by merely indicating the sources of potential, and it should be understood that, wherever such sources are shown with merely a positive or negative symbol, the other side of the source is connected to ground. Also, 1 have shownno heater filaments for the cathodes of the tubes, but it will be understood that such filaments would, of course, be necessary where heater type tubes are used.

Many other types of tubes may be used in the circuits shown, the particular tubes being selected merely for the purpose of illustration. Also, the circuit arrangements shown are subject to great variation, many of the units being interchangeable with others and adapted for connection in different sequence than that shown. For instance, the phasing oontrols may be inserted in any part of the circuit where the oscillations are in substantially sine wave form. I do not, therefore, wish to be limited to the circuits shown and described exceptby the limitations included in the appended claims.

It should be noted that certain aspects of my invention herein disclosed, but not claimed, are disclosed in my co-pending application, Ser. No. 200,338, filed concurrently herewith,and claimed therein.

What I claim is:

1. A television system comprising a television camera having means to scan an object field a predetermined number of times per second,

means to translate the light variations produced thereby into electrical variations, a receiver, means to transmit said electrical variations from said camera to said receiver, means to simultaneously transmit from said camera to said receiver a synchronizing signal at a frequency below the picture scanning rate, and means to utilize said signal for synchronizing said receiver, said means comprising a chain of flip-flop circuits arranged to be driven by the received chronizing purposes, said oscillations being mixedwith the picture signal, and means to accurately synchronize said receiver with said oscillations,

said means comprising a chain of flip-flop circuits arranged to be driven by the received synchronizing signal and to multiply the frequency thereof to produce the receiving synchronizing pulses.

3. A television system comprising means to produce electrical oscillations corresponding to a video signal, means to produce electrical oscillations corresponding to a sound accompaniment for said video signal, said means being limited to producing oscillations having a frequency lying within a predetermined band, means for producing a synchronizing signal having a frequency lying outside of said band, means for combining said synchronizingsignal and said electrical 0scillations corresponding to said sound accompaniment, means for producing two carrier waves of different frequency, means for modulating one of said carrier waves with the first set of oscillations and means for modulating the second carrier with said second set of oscillations mixed with said synchronizing signal.

4. A television system comprising means to produce electrical oscillations corresponding to a video signal, means to produce electrical oscillations corresponding to a sound accompaniment for said video signal, said means being limited to producing oscillations having a frequency lying within a predetermined band, means for producing a synchronizing signal of sine wave form and having a frequency l ng outside of said band, means for combining said synchronizing signal and said electrical oscillations corresponding to said sound accompaniment, means for producing two carrier waves of difl'erent frequency, means for modulating one of said carrier waves with the first set of oscillations and means for modulating the other with said second set of oscillations mixed with said synchronizing signal.

5. A television transmitter comprising means to scan an object field, means to control the operation of said scanning means in one direction, means to control the operation of said scanning meansin another direction, a signal generator comprising a chain of flip-flop circuits arranged to multiply frequency for producing oscillations at predetermined frequencies, means to deliver said oscillations to said control means in substantially sine wave form and means comprising a flip-flop circuit for producing a-saw-tooth wave.

6. Atelevision transmitter comprising means to scan an object field, means to control the operation of said scanning means in one direction, means to control the operation of said scanning means in another direction, a flip-flop circuit, means to energize said flip-flop circuit with an oscillation at a relatively low frequency, means to utilize said low frequency oscillation to operate one of said control means, means to select a harmonic of the said oscillation from the output of said flip-flop circuit, and means to utilize said harmonic to maintain the other of said control means in fixed predetermined time relation with said first control means. Q

7. A television transmitter comprising a scanning apparatus, a rotary oscillation generator, a chain of circuits including a flip-flop circuit as sociated with said generator and adapted to solect and amplify a higher harmonic of the frequency of the oscillations produced by said gen-I- erator, and means to utilize said oscillations thus" produced to control said scanning apparatus.

8. A television transmitter comprising a scanning apparatus, a rotary oscillation generator, a

synchronous motor to drive said generator, said.

motor being operated on the alternating current power line,means to control one direction ofscancomprising a'source of low frequency oscillationsand a chain of circuits for multiplying the original frequency, said chain of circuits comprising flip-flop circuits arranged to produce frequency multiplication in steps of odd multiples exceeding four.

A television receiver comprising means to intercept a. transmitted signal, means to utilize a predetermined band of said signal to produce variations of light for a picture, means to amplify oscillations of a predetermined frequency within said band, and means including a flip-flop circuit to utilize such oscillations for synchronizing purposes.

11. A television receiver comprising means to intercept a transmitted signal, means to produce a cathode ray beam, means to utilize variations of said signal to control'the intensity of said cathode ray beam, a flip-flop circuit, means to energize said flip-flop circuit by synchronizing impulses contained in said intercepted signal,

means to control the movement of said cathode ray beam in one direction by said flip-flop circuit, a second flip-flop circuit, means to energize said second flip-flop circuit by other synchronizing impulses included in said signal, and means to control the movement of said electron beam in another direction by said second flip-flop circuit.

12. A television system comprising a television camera, a receiver, means to transmit picture signals from said camera to said receiver, means to transmit a sound signal from said transmitter to said receiver, means to include in said sound signal a substantially sine wave oscillation corresponding in frequency to the picture scanning frequency and a substantially sine wave oscillationcorresponding in frequency to the line frequency, and means at the receiver to utilize said oscillations for synchronizing purposes, said means comprising a chain of flip-flop circuits arranged to be driven by the received synchronizing signal and to multiply the frequency thereof to produce the receiving synchronizing pulses.

13. A television system comprising means to produce electrical oscillations corresponding to a video signal, means to produce electrical oscillations corresponding to a sound accompani mentfor said video signal, said means being limited to producing oscillations having a frequency lying within afpredetermined. band, means for producing a synchronizing signal having a frequency lying outside and below said band, means for combining said synchronizing signal and said electrical oscillationscorresponding to said sound accompaniment, means forproducingtwo. carrier waves of different frequency, means formodulating one of said carrier waves'with the first set of oscillations and'means for modulating the other with .said second set of oscillations miXedwi th said synchronizing signal.

'14. A television receiving system for producing an image: from received signalsincluding video signals and synchronizing signals,- said system comprising means to produce a variable cathode ray beam for scanning, a'flip-flop circuit, means to-control -sa id flip-flop circuit from the scanning impulses in the received signal, and means fed from the output of said flip-flop circuit to produce a saw-tooth scanning wave;

1 5. A television receiving system for'producing an image from received signals including video signals and synchronizing signals, said system comprising means for producing a variable cathode ray beam for scanning a receiving screen, a flip-flop circuit, means for selecting the synchronizing signals from the received signals and applying said synchronizing signals to said flip-flop circuit to control the same, means fed from the output of said flip-flop circuit to produce a saw-tooth scanning wave, andmeans for utilizing said saw-tooth scanning wave'to control the deflection of said cathode ray beam.

16. A television receiving system for producing an image from received signals comprising video,'

line synchronizing, and frame synchronizing signals, said system comprising means for producing a variable cathode ray beam for scanning a receiving screen, a first flip-flop circuit, means for selecting and applying the line synchronizing signals to said first flip-flop circuit to control the output of the same, a second flip-flop circuit, means for selecting and applying the frame synchronizing signals to said second flip-flop circuit to control the output of the same,,means associated with the output of each of said flipflop circuits respectively for producing sawtooth line and frame scanning waves respectively, and means for utilizing said scanning waves to control the position of said cathode ray beam.

17. A television receiver for producing an image from signals including video and synchronizing signals, said receiver comprising means for selecting and utilizing the video portion of the received signal to produce variations of light, means for selecting the synchronizing portion of the received signals, and means including a flip-flop circuit for utilizing said synchronizing signals for synchronizing purposes.

18. A television receiver for producing an image from received signals including video signals and line and frame synchronizing signals, said receiver comprising means for selecting and utilizing the video portion of the received signal to produce variations of light, means for selecting the line synchronizing signals, means includ-- ing a first flip-410p circuit for utilizing said line synchronizing signals for line synchronizing purposes, and means including a second flip-flop circuit for utilizing said frame synchronizing signals for frame synchronizing purposes.

ERNEST A. TUBBS. 

